MLB Notes: Javier Baez Back for Cubs Day After Outfield Collision

MILWAUKEE -- Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez is back in the lineup a day after he was injured in an outfield collision.

Baez was set to play against Milwaukee at Miller Park.

Baez was bruised around his left eye when he collided with center fielder Jason Heyward on Friday night and left the game. Baez arrived at the ballpark Saturday and assured manager Joe Maddon that he could see properly.

"I'm 100 percent normal," Baez said. "I went to hit and I was feeling good. Since I came out of the game, I was icing it, so the swelling was going down. It was kind of purple today, but I'm good."

Maddon said Baez will have a regularly scheduled off day Sunday.

Heyward was not in the lineup Saturday night. Maddon said the collision had nothing to do with Heyward's absence (see full story).

Philadelphia Phillies

Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Phillies release Opening Day roster, place 5 players on IL

Phillies 2024 Opening Day postponed to Friday

Red Sox: David Price progressing in recovery from elbow strain
DETROIT -- David Price threw out to 120 feet Saturday in what Boston manager John Farrell described as "another consistent work day" for the left-hander who is recovering from an elbow strain.

Farrell said Price threw with increments at 60, 90 and 120 feet and "was able to spin the ball on flat ground" before the Red Sox took on the Detroit Tigers.

Boston again fielded a short-handed lineup. Several players have been ill recently.

Farrell said: "There's three different things that are going around. One's a respiratory one, one's flu-like symptoms, and one is the full-blown flu."

Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez did not start, and reliever Joe Kelly was unavailable.

Left-hander Drew Pomeranz (forearm strain) threw Saturday and is on track to start Tuesday against Baltimore (see full story).

Speed bump: Radar readings up with MLB change to Statcast
NEW YORK -- The scoreboard at Citi Field showed Jacob deGrom hitting 98 mph, and the ballpark buzzed with the Mets star back in top form.

In Seattle, fans surely thought the same when Felix Hernandez's fastball ticked up on opening day. And how about that extra juice from Detroit ace Justin Verlander?

All across the majors, pitchers are ramping up the velocity this season -- or at least it seems that way.

Not so fast. They're actually getting a little help: Major League Baseball has changed the way it's recording and reporting pitch speeds, driving up readings all over the league.

After previously using PITCHf/x to provide velocities to broadcasts and ballparks, Major League Baseball Advanced Media is instead supplying numbers from its Statcast system. They key difference is that PITCHf/x calculates velocity at a set point -- usually 50 or 55 feet from the back of home plate -- while Statcast is able to measure velocity directly out of the pitcher's hand.

Because of that difference, Statcast readings are faster than PITCHf/x by about 0.6 mph on average, according to MLBAM senior data architect Tom Tango.

"We do have the technology to capture the speed right out of the hand now," Tango told The Associated Press. "So that's what we report."

Trouble is, for now, fans and analysts aren't necessarily comparing apples to apples on pitch speeds from last year (see full story).

Copyright CSNPhily
Contact Us